public/what-is-workframe.md

What is Workframe?

Audience, concepts, Hermes relationship

Workframe is a multi-user web shell around Hermes Agent. It packages Hermes with auth, rooms, a file workspace, credential vault, and Docker Compose so a team can run agents on shared project files.

Workframe is not a Hermes fork and not a general-purpose chat product. It is a project starter and operations layer for agent-assisted work where files on disk are the source of truth.

Repository: github.com/npx-workframe/workframe

Who it is for

You are… Typical use
Solo developer One machine, one operator, local Docker — explore Hermes with a ready-made UI
Small team Trusted colleagues on Docker/LAN — shared rooms, BYOK keys, invite-only access
Operator hosting others HTTPS VPS, invite-only — public multi-user mode with hardened compose

If you only need a single Hermes profile on your laptop with no team UI, Hermes alone may be enough. Choose Workframe when you want shared workspace, multi-user auth, and compose packaging.

What you get

  • Web UI — chat, files, browser preview, activity feed, team rail
  • Hermes runtime — profiles, skills, Kanban, gateway (via Docker image nousresearch/hermes-agent)
  • Workframe API — sessions, rooms, vault, provider connect, Hermes proxy
  • Installer — npx create-workframe@0.1.4 MyProject scaffolds a runnable project
  • Optional surfaces — Telegram and Discord (configured per install)

How it relates to Hermes

Workframe UI  →  Workframe API  →  Hermes gateway (profiles, chat, tools)
                      ↓
                 SQLite + vault + Files/ (/workspace)

Workframe adds tenancy, auth, and UI around Hermes. Agent execution, skills, and Kanban semantics come from Hermes. Workframe docs assume you may need Hermes documentation for advanced agent configuration.

Core concepts

Term Meaning
Native / concierge agent Project-facing coordinator ({project}-agent)
Specialist agents Optional role agents added when needed
Lane UI route to an agent profile
Runtime profile Per-user Hermes home (u-{user}-{agent}) for BYOK isolation
Files Project workspace — canonical truth (Files/ on host, /workspace in containers)
Kanban Hermes execution state and handoffs
Chat Intent and coordination — not the durable record of record

Two ways to use this repository

Path When Start here
Install a project You want a running Workframe for your team Install
Hack on Workframe itself You want to change UI, API, or installer Develop

Generated installs copy API/UI/supervisor from the npm package. Source of truth for product code is this monorepo (apps/web, services/workframe-api, etc.). See Audit for where to read before trusting a deploy.

Version expectations

Current release line: 0.1.x (see VERSION.md). Expect rough edges: wizard-driven setup, Docker-first ops, and API routes that serve the bundled UI rather than a frozen public SDK.

Next steps

© 2026 Workfra.me · Home